There is no respite from fuel price hike as petrol and diesel prices in the country continued to surge on the back of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the US-China trade war. On top of that now reports have surfaced saying that the government may raise excise duty on petrol and diesel.
According to Deccan Herald, The hike in excise duty may, however, happen at a later stage when crude oil prices soften leading to a downward revision in the cost of petrol and diesel. There could be an excise hike of up to Rs 2 per litre on both fuels, informed sources said, informed sources said, adding this is one of the options before the government to shore up revenues. Prior to this, the government had hiked excise duty and road infrastructure cess on petrol and diesel by Re 1 a litre each in July to part-fund the Union Budget for 2019-20.
On Monday, fuel prices rose again. Petrol rates in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai were Rs 73.91, Rs 76.60, Rs 79. 57 and Rs 76.83 per litre respectively, while diesel rates were recorded at Rs 66.93, Rs 69.35, Rs 70.22 and Rs 70.76 per litre in the four metros, according to the Indian Oil Limited website.
Petrol and diesel prices have registered a significant jump over the past six days, with Delhi seeing petrol prices increase to Rs 1.88 per litre and diesel prices hike to Rs 1.50 per litre. ICE November Brent futures were trading $0.51 higher at $64.93 per barrel in the international market.
